Manufactured buildings, mobile homes or trailer coaches include long longitudinal support beams underneath. Typically, when the building or coach is installed, a plurality of vertical piers or jacks are placed under the beams to support them. Most piers or jacks require placement on a rigid ground pan so as not to sink into the ground from the loading.
Conventional piers do not provide resistance to lateral or longitudinal forces that may be exerted on the manufactured building, such as by strong winds or earthquakes. Our U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,150 discloses a foundation for manufactured buildings that uses a lateral brace that pivotably attaches at a lower end to the ground pan under one of the support beams and attaches at an upper end to the other of the support beams. A separate pier is installed on the ground pan and contacts the support beam above the ground pan. The lateral brace enables the ground pan to resist lateral forces on the manufactured building while the pier supports the manufactured building. Similarly, the brace may be connected between the ground pan and the support beam over the ground pan, for resisting movement caused by longitudinal forces on the manufactured building.
Various types of vertical piers can be used. A pier may be constructed using cement blocks, steel members, and steel tubes. The cement blocks stack on the ground pan to a height just below the lower flange of the support beam. The stack is capped with wood plates that contact the support beam. Steel members used as a pier connect to a ground pan with a ground pan connector and to the support beam with a beam connector. A steel tube pier includes an extendable member that connects at an upper end of the tube to the support beam.
Because these support and bracing devices for foundation systems have to be installed in the field, it is desirable that they be simple to install, preferably by a single person, not require complex tools, and not require any alterations to the existing support beams, such as drilling, that could deleteriously affect the strength of the support beams.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for connector for support members of a foundation system that provides vertical support and lateral or longitudinal stability for a manufactured building. It is to such that the present invention is directed.